


Promise me, Ceasar

by Katherin_Ravenlin



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Childhood Friends, Conspiracy, Developing Relationship, Forbidden Love, M/M, Nero keeps his promise, Nero-Theo, Reincarnation, Slave Liam, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Theo Raeken Has To Write An Assignment
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:40:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27044398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katherin_Ravenlin/pseuds/Katherin_Ravenlin
Summary: Theo is the secret son of the acting Roman Emperor when his father gets assassinated, and since not being admitted heir, he could slip through the cracks to be sent to one of his mother's friends to grow up in the province of Britania.While being educated and living a life full of training and struggling to fight for his survival his only friend seemed to be a little slave boy.Everything gets flipped upside down as Theo is called back to Rome to rule at the tender age of 16. His mother and his tutor guide him through the circles of power and the luxurious mess that is the palace life, not knowing how his 17 years birthday present will change his life forever.
Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken
Comments: 4
Kudos: 9





	Promise me, Ceasar

Staring at the chessboard, the little Nero foamed. He was beaten, again. He will never win a battle if he can't even win a game of chess, he just won't.

Pasing around the room he jumped when he heard the metallic sound of metal clashing to something. Jumping immediately, his fighting training gave him the reflexes to face the danger immediately. But what he got to face was only a tiny slave boy, who put a basket full of fruits on the near commode but managed to knock off with his elbow.

The little boy looked at him with terrified eyes, quick to pick up the bronze cup that fell to the ground, cast his eyes down and exiting the room as quick as he could before Nero could have opened his mouth to tell him not to run away.

That evening Nero kept walking around on the property, looking for a skinny, short servant boy with such piercing blue eyes he has never seen.

***

The successor is riding around the property when he sees their slave driver whipping the tiny boy, who is trashing around on the ground, deep, wide gushes on his back already open after many blows, blood trickling out of the fair skin, body shaking with sobs. "Mr Adnurus, why are you doing that? Would you stop?" but the old man only says "These need to be taught a lesson well, my boy," and keeps on whipping Lael.

Needing to form a plan and not able to do anything now, Nero goes on his way.

At the evening he asks his tutor if he could teach him archery too.

***

At a lazy Saturday afternoon Nero is practising his aim with the arrows, deep in the task as he had been for hours already. The tiny boy dragging a heavy-looking basket towards the kitchen and Nero goes to help him. He looks too fragile, carrying all that much weight alone.

The questioning looks they get from the kitchen staff as they show up are unquestionable, carrying the weight of the heavy basket together, not that Nero cares.

After he returns to archery, his head is clearer and his hand is surer, getting closer and closer to the middle of the target. What he doesn't know about is his science tutor witnessing all of this from underneath the arcads.

***

There is an attack on the house one evening. The attackers kill everybody and manage to find the twelve years old Nero. Even he tries to fight with every knowledge he has Nero is being restrained and taken away. No one suspects to see the skinny little figure jumping out of the shadows and stabbing the two soldiers, that are currently holding him, in the back. Nero and Lael manage to kill them all, but Lael gets badly injured: he has a very deep gush on his face as a sword almost sliced into his eye from the other upper corner of his forehead to his cheekbone. Blood is everywhere and Nero wishes he has learnt healing science too.

At that evening it is for the first time when he tries to speak to the boy. He doesn't understand his language, not like the bony boy with bright blue eyes understands much Latin, just outside of the very basics. But he understands when he asks him "Why did you save me?" as small hands wrap hesitantly around his wrist as if expecting him to slap his hand away the boy puts his palm on his back, over the healed but prominent whip marks. Poking at the chest of the to-be-emperor Lael speaks in his language, pointing at Nero, the whip marks on his back, then on himself and the very sword on the ground, lying next to them on the ground that sliced through the soft face of the young man.

They get into the house to clean their wounds and dress them, and after taking perfect care of Nero the boy collapses on a small chair in the corner of the kitchen, almost in a coma-like state while Nero tries to dress his wounds, especially his face. When he finishes and stands up the little guy jolts awake, looking at him with huge, careful and attention full eyes. "What is your name?" he asks casually, but the boy only frowns at him, doesn't understand. Pointing at his own chest he tries again "Nero," he says at himself, then turns his finger at the boy. But instead of answering the small creature furiously gets off of the chair and gestures to Nero to take the seat with hurries gestures and eyes strickly on his naked feet. "No, no, this is not what I meant," tries Nero again, stepping closer, just to find that the boy is trembling. "Your _name_ " he says, articulating it more so that that way the tiny boy would maybe understand. " _I_ am Nero," he says, pointing at himself again, then turning his finger. "And _you_ are?"

Seeming to be thinking about his answer very deeply, after a couple of long seconds the boy's lips open slightly, then close and the open again.

"Lael."

***

Turns out, there was one more survivor of the attack: Nero's science tutor. Nero is in grief; his sister - out of six of them the only one he had ever met - had fallen victim to the savage violation, and they found her body in the pool of her own blood. Nero was broken. He has never met anybody out of his family. Not even his mother.

After Lael saved his life, the boy only gets to be handled with great care; even though many frowns upon how much he cares about his 'pet'. The boy must get food every day, sleeps in the best bed in the slave house and is excused from lots of tasks to spend time with Nero. Nero is just grateful - without him, the young successor wouldn't be alive anymore.

And having the boy close just feels right.

***

"Who does possess the servants of the property at the moment?" asks one day Nero his science tutor, Seneca. "How do you come to this question, Nero?" asks the man with a complex facial expression. "I want to issue that Lael belongs to me," said Nero straightforward, and the other man blinked at him with deep, unreadable eyes.

"When the time will come, please believe me when I say, he will," said Seneca, and with that, he considered the topic of the conversation past and continued to talk about mathematics.

***

After every day Lael is ordered to bring Nero and himself dinner to Nero's room where they share a meal while trying to speak. Lael is learning fast, every day new Latin words seem to appear in his vocabulary and after he understands that it is okay to do, he asks a lot. They talk mostly in two different languages, but Nero has never been stupid, a challenge of the mind never falters him; he is rather intrigued by the challenge of teaching Lael.

One evening Nero is very sore from fighting practice, his tutor didn't show any mercy and all of his muscles are cramped, not even daring to think about how they would feel tomorrow. He walks into his room, finding Lael already there with their meals, standing next to a chair whilst the other chair is waiting for Nero. He could never understand why the younger boy was not able to comprehend that he is allowed to take a seat - Nero would be even more pleased with him if he would do so - while waiting for him.

With uneasy motions Nero sat down. "Please, Lael, sit down and eat," said Nero, picking up a piece of bread from his own but didn't take one bite until he saw Lael starting eating. The boy bit immediately into his food, eating it seemingly slowly but Nero saw how measured pace it was and how hungry the other boy truly was. Nero kept just chewing on his food half-heartedly as he watched the bright blue eyes being covered by fluttering eyelids and eyelashes every time the little cherub bit into something particularly delicious. After they were finished Nero stood up with heavy legs and then stopped as he saw Lael measuring him with careful eyes.

"Is everything okay, Lael?" Lael nodded, his face not serious or scared, not tense as he always used to be for so damn long around the successor before he finally realised Nero is not about to hurt or punish him. "I..." Lael began, searching for words. "These..." he stepped closer, pointing at the taut muscles on Nero's arm, "Bad?" he asks. Nero smiles at that, nodding. "Yeah, it is pretty bad. It _hurts_ a lot," says Nero and watches as Lael lifts lightly one hand and carefully moves it until it hovers about the successor's left arm, silently asking if he has permission to touch him. The tug of a smile on his lips Nero feels must have been enough because the next thing he feels is the feeling of his warm palm on his skin and he would have sighed at the feeling would it not have been for his dignity.

And then the hold started to gently tighten, squeezing the muscle and then easing gently up the hold, and Nero found himself closing his eyes and enjoying the sensation of the boy changing holds and storing his calloused palm over his skin to change positions, just to start again. He moved further, piece by piece up to his shoulder. Nero sighed as Lael kept on with his sweet treatment on his tense shoulder but hissed all of a sudden when pain like a stab in the flesh flashed through him as the boy's heavenly hands put pressure on a completely unexpected point.

Lael flinched back, chanting "I sorry, I sorry," while casting his eyes down and pulling his hands back immediately. "It is okay, Lael!" he said, quickly turning around to face him but the boy kept his gaze in the floor. "Lael, I liked it, it was good!" he said lightly, earning quick, unsure glances from the boy up to his face before gazing down again. "I no good," the boy said silently and Nero, before he could think the better of it put gently his fingers under the boy's chin and lifted his head up, looking into the piercing, blue orbs. "You _are_ good. You were doing good."

What he did not count with, was getting lost in the magical eyes like getting lost in the rush of blood and sharp intake of breath whilst fighting and getting lost in the pleasure of delicious food while greeting a guest to the house. Something divine, something alive was in there, and he wanted to see it, watch it, bath in the attention of those magnificent orbs.

***

The next evening Nero asked Lael to knead him again. The other boy complied with a slight smile, Nero thought he was maybe glad he had enough trust in him to give him another chance; the more time they spent together, the more trust and faith Nero had in this slave. And oh boy, did Lael live up to his expectations. The muscles of his back were slack as a sheet left hanging on the cord to dry and he felt tired but damn, he also felt well-rested as Lael kneaded his lower back with careful, although surprisingly practised hands. That night he remembers that he slept better than he ever had in years and dreamed with the boy. In his dream, after kneading him, Lael laid down with him and smiled carelessly as Nero reached out to pull him into his embrace, holding him to his chest, safe and close.

***

Every night after that, Lael stayed after dinner to knead him.

Every single day, even if his tutors and trainers gave him hell in classes and sessions, there was at least always one thing that kept him on his feet and his head up through the day. That at the end of the day, he will return to Lael, and to the warm, unique closeness they shared as they talked about their day.

It was rather pleasant, but it pleased Nero just as much to have the boy touching his skin as having his sore muscles kneaded. Even Marcus noticed his trainer, commenting on how quickly he recovers from the heavy fighting sessions.

The day when Nero turned fourteen after Lael seemed to be done with the kneading he started retrieving from the bed where the successor laid on the stomach, when Nero pushed himself up on his elbows and reached for the boy, managing to grab the sleeve of his simple clothing before he could have moved away. Lael looked at him paused and puzzled, but at least not alarmed. "Would you stay with me?"

Lael looked puzzled at that. "If you wish. But I am dirty," said the boy quietly, gesturing at his clothes. "Will you let me wash you?" asked Nero, a bit shyer and a bit slower and Lael looked at him for a flash as if he was crazy but quickly masked his expression. "If you wish," the boy said again. "Lael, please, none of this," said Nero a bit chiding, pulling at the sleeve of the clothing until the boy neared the bed and almost sat on it. "I will dirty your bed," Lael said quickly, almost objecting, and Nero saw as he started slowly losing the air of easiness he had around Nero most of the time.

"I am sorry," Nero said, letting go of the fabric between his fingers, pulling back his hand and sitting up to face the boy at least a bit respectfully. "You are free to decline my request if you do not wish to spend the night here," he said, soothingly, making Lael's eyes go huge. "You are master, I can't say no what you want," said the boy surprised and a bit tense, as if he was waiting for Nero to provoke disobedience out of him just to punish him. This was getting worst and worst. "Leal, I enjoy your company and I also want you to enjoy mine. I want you to be my friend, not my servant. If you don't want to do something, it is okay. I just want you to feel comfortable. "

"It is not good. I am slave, I am dirty, I can't sleep in master's bed. And I can't want give you bother," said the boy with pink cheeks, struggling to keep eye contact. Nero couldn't help the adoration that flooded him every time his... _boy_ took effort into speaking his language (his friend, his servant, his companion, his slave, his love... Nero couldn't pick anymore). But the words woke some deep worries in him; they are too quiet and polite, excuses and rules. They were above the rules, Nero always wanted them to be. According to the rules, he shouldn't even have ever speared a glace to the amazing creature standing by his bed, and still, they were here. They were what they were. Never mind the rules. But maybe Lael didn't want that. Maybe he just wanted him off his back. Nero didn't let his shoulders sink at the thought, but he damn well wanted to.

"I am sorry Lael if I said something that offended you. If you wish so, feel free to leave or feel free to stay." Bowing with his hands hugging each other in front of him Lael said "I wish you a good nights rest, Master," before turning on his heel and leaving the room.

That night Nero saw it in his dream as the boy walked to his bed instead of to the door, took is his shirt and lead down next to him, kissed him and said: I love you.


End file.
